Growing
by PomKat
Summary: They've all been growing. Oneshot. Sort of a sequel to Murder, He Wrote.


Disclaimer: 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent' and all its characters belong to Dick Wolf. Not me. : (

A/N: One shot. Sort of a sequel to _Murder, He Wrote _(with the second alternate ending). I'm trying a new style of writing. Let me know if you like it! Excuse any errors, I typed this up quickly. Enjoy!

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_Growing_

I watch my partner from the corner of my eye. She probably can't tell, but her head is slowly starting to slip from her hand. Again. It'll only be a second before it finally falls and . . .

Ha! There it goes. And the amazing Alexandra Eames is back up, staring around, wondering if anyone caught her drifting off to sleep on the job. I bite down on my tongue to keep the laugh from spurting up and stare back down at the half-finished report on my desk. With another quick glance at Alex, I slip the papers into my binder and shut it, stretching. "Wanna call it a night, Eames?" I ask, and receive a thankful nod from the woman in return.

We both stand and she turns to grab her jacket. She hands me my coat and we both walk to the elevator together. A few minutes pass and we're in the garage and slipping into my car. It's nearly been a year since Alex's kidnapping and even though she has moved back into her house, she still doesn't feel quite safe enough to drive home alone (of course, she won't admit this little fact), so I've been driving her to her house for the past few months. I'm growing used to it and I think she is too.

It's nice. Being able to sit and talk with her about everything that's not murder and work. Tonight we talk about her nephew, a usual subject that pops up with Alex. I love the way her honey eyes sparkle whenever she mentions little Christopher. She shows me pictures. One of Chris with a towel wrapped around his neck. "My little superhero," she says with a pretty smile. Another of Chris playing in the fall leaves and a third of her and Chris waving to the camera. I smile and tell her that he's beautiful and getting big. She says she can't believe he's growing up so fast.

I pull up in front of her building, cut the engine, and walk her to her door. She bids me a goodnight, slipping into her home while waving at me. I wave back and turn back to my car. Now it's back to my house where I'll take a quick shower and fall into bed.

But there's something that stops me from doing that; a small envelope with big loopy cursive on the front stuffed under the rest of my mail. I smile widely, already knowing what it is. I throw the other envelopes onto the kitchen counter and delicately rip open the one in my hand. I drag the pieces of paper out and sit at the table while I unfold them and read.

_August 2, 2007_

_Hiya, Bobby!_

_Wow, it's been hard adjusting to my new house, but I love it! My new parents are the best and I have a little brother and sister now! They're both twins and have been adopted like me. _

_This house is absolutely humongous! It's not as crowded here in New Jersey as it is in New York, but I still miss the smell of the hot dog vendors on the sidewalks. I have a backyard here too! Not like the concrete one at my old house. It's a real backyard! With grass and flowers and stuff like that. I love it here._

_My parents got me a puppy! It's that awesome? He's an adorable pug named Mops. Of course, I have to share him with my brother and sister, but they're much too interested in two-year-old things rather than a dog. _

_I've missed you and Alex! How are you guys doing? Working on any interesting cases lately? Do you miss me too?_

_Guess that's it. Looking forward to your next phone call!_

_Love,_

_Madison Rae_

_P.S. Enclosed are some pictures!_

I grin and pull the photos out from the envelope. The first one is of Madison's new family; a short, blonde woman, a tall, bald-headed man, and two red-headed toddlers. They're posed in front of her new home, all smiles and laughs. I flip to the next photo. This one is of Madison. Her hair's gotten longer, it's nearly reaching her shoulders and it doesn't look as choppy as it did when I last saw her. There's a wide smile on her cream and rose face and a small pug-faced dog in her lap. I take this little creature to be Mops. And I think to myself, _Wow, Madison's been growing._

I stick the letter and the photo of her family back in the envelope. I walk to my bedroom where I put the envelope in the top of my dresser. I prop the photo of Madison up next to the one of me and Alex and with a glance at the clock, I reach for the phone to call the little girl that's waiting for me.


End file.
